Holy Month Of Ramadan..
 

I expect everyone already knows about this, but thought I'd put a reminder on the board anyway. The Holy Month Of RAMADAN is due to start (depending on moon sightings) on the 15 November, this means no Drinking, Smoking, Eating. in public from sunrise till sunset. most Muslim countries arn't too strick and most Muslims would not pay any attention to a Traveler making a mistake, BUT given the sensitive situation it's best to play it cool and do any of these activities out of the public eye. Take care and enjoy your trip everyone. Just one more thing During Ramadam Government departments work even shorter hours, in the U.A.E only from 09:00 till 12:00 so visa'a ect can take even longer to get. Thats all for know Richard..

I have been in Iran for a week now having seen Ramadan / Ramazan start in Eastern Turkey.
Apparently there is a Islamic rule / law ?which stipulates that a traveller more than 60km from home is exempt from fasting. I have seen plenty of Muslim feeders in the hotel restaurants for breakfast & lunch. So no problem eating in daylight in this manner.

Yeah the streets should be avoided but again I've seen quite a few daylight smokers & people ecourage me to try some of their local delicacies during the day - but there's a different motive here me thinks!
So it's not all daytime starvation.
Cheers Graeme

I am leaving for Marocco on 28/11/01. Just a 10-day hike in the Atlas Moutnains, around Jbel Toubkal. Should I keep things in mind about the Ramadan? I have no experience what so ever with the Islam or Moslim world.
I'll be travelling alone and avoiding the big cities.

Hi Graeme very glad to hear you had a good time in Iran and that Ramadan didn't dampen your travaling any Yeah your right about the rule for travelers, the point I was trying to get accross is that some people (the situation being what it is at the moment) will be looking for any small reason to start some kind of confrontation with any non Muslim, but on the whole like you found out it shouldn't be a problem, Hotels in the U.A.E (read 5 star) do have areas layed out for non muslims to go for breakfast and lunch, but again out of public veiw.
Fireboomer??? Marocco shouldn't be a problem as far as I know a lot of mainly Muslim countries such as Lebanon, Syria, (Older countries) during Ramadan, if your Muslim you are expected to fast but then it is up to the individual, if you want to thats fine but if you choose not to thats also fine. I just think you have to play it by ear and see whats the norm from place to place. But as a sign of respect do any eating and drinking out of public eye. Take care guys and have a plesant trip..

Thanks for the advice. I am not a Moslim. But it shouldn't be a problem. Seems that one just needs to show some basic respect for a culture. As everybody should do when visiting a country.

[This message has been edited by fireboomer (edited 28 November 2001).]

I believe Graeme is correct, there is an exemption from the fasting requirements for Muslims who are travelling. However, I have worked in Muslim countries as an aircraft pilot, and rarely saw people taking advantage of this exemption when travelling on my aircraft. I think the exemption is more interpreted that if you have to make a long voyage by foot during Ramadan, you can take in what you need to sustain yourself during your walking.

As for non-Muslims, we are not obliged to fast, and I have never ever seen or heard of any Muslim asking or expecting a non-Muslim to fast. But, common courtesy dictates that non-Muslims should do their best to avoid eating, drinking and smoking in front of those who are fasting.

Agree with everything your saying, Ranadam is not too much trouble, the main inconveniance is the fact government offices work shorter hours so customs and imigration can take a lot longer. Regards and HAPPY NEW YEAR Richard..

For planning purposes, here are the major Islamic holiday dates for the remainder of this year (2002):

Hajj (Pilgramage): February 14 until February 21.
Arafat & Eid al Adha (4 day Festival): February 21-24 inclusive
Hijri New Year: March 14
Prophet Mohammed's Birthday: May 25
Lailat al-Ma'raj: October 3
Beginning of Ramadan: November 5 (may be delayed by a day locally)
Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan, the Festival of Fast-Breaking): Dec 5 to 7 (may be delayed by a day locally)

Holiday celebrations begin at sundown the day before. You can expect government services to be restricted or unavailable during these holidays, same way as the Christian holidays in North America or Europe result in a reduction of services. Hajj does not have a big impact on day to day operations outside of Saudi Arabia, but is a peak travel time.

For those who would like more background information about the purpose of the above holidays, the website Holiday Festival is a superb, unbiased source of information about all different religious and civil holidays in virtually all countries of the world.

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 16 February 2002).]